Send by mail:

Last Name :

Name :

From* :

To* :

(You can enter multiple email addresses separated by commas)

Message :

*Required fields

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Politics & Government Week -- From Washington, D.C., VerticalNews journalists report that a patent application by the inventors GUEN, Minhyung (Yongin-si, KR); SEO, Yongchul (Yongin-si, KR), filed on December 16, 2013, was made available online on February 19, 2015.

The patent's assignee is Samsung Sdi Co., Ltd.

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: "Embodiments relate to a rechargeable battery.

"Unlike primary batteries, which are not chargeable, rechargeable secondary batteries are chargeable and dischargeable. Low capacity batteries (that use single battery cells) may be used as power sources for various portable small-sized electronic devices such as cellular phones and camcorders. High power batteries (that use tens of battery cells connected to each other in a battery pack) may be used as power sources for hybrid vehicles or the like.

"The rechargeable battery may be manufactured to have various shapes, e.g., cylindrical batteries and prismatic batteries. The rechargeable battery may be configured by accommodating an electrode assembly (having a positive plate and a negative plate and a separator as an insulator interposed therebetween) in a battery case with an electrolyte, and installing a cap plate having electrode terminals in the case. Positive and negative electrode terminals may be connected to the electrode assembly to then be exposed or protruded to the outside through the cap plate."

As a supplement to the background information on this patent application, VerticalNews correspondents also obtained the inventors' summary information for this patent application: "Embodiments are directed to a rechargeable battery.

"The embodiments may be realized by providing a rechargeable battery including an electrode assembly; a terminal; and a current collector electrically connecting the electrode assembly and the terminal, the current collector including a first fuse for a first current and a second fuse for a second current, the first current being different from the second current.

"The current collector may include a terminal connection part coupled with the terminal, an electrode connection part coupled with the electrode assembly, and a connecting part connecting between the terminal connection part and the electrode connection part.

"The first fuse may be on the terminal connection part of the current collector.

"The second fuse may be on the connecting part of the current collector.

"The first fuse may include a fuse hole penetrating the terminal connection part, the fuse hole reducing a cross sectional area of a region of the terminal connection part of the current collector.

"The current collector may have an inverted-L shape such that the terminal connection part is perpendicular to the electrode connection part and the connecting part.

"The second fuse may include fuse cut-outs, the fuse cut-outs reducing a certain cross sectional area of the connecting part of the current collector relative to other regions of the connecting part.

"The fuse cut-outs may include a first fuse-cut out at one side of the connecting part, and a second fuse cut-out at another side of the connecting part, the other side of the connecting part being opposite to the one side of the connecting part.

"The first fuse-cut out may have a size and shape that are about the same as a size and shape of the second fuse cut-out.

"The the first fuse-cut out may have a size and shape that are different from a size and shape of the second fuse cut-out.

"The first fuse-cut out may have an area that is greater than an area of the second fuse cut-out.

"The fuse cut-outs may be grooves extending inwardly from respective outer side edges of the connecting part.

"The second fuse may further include a fuse protrusion between the fuse cut-outs, the fuse protrusion protruding toward the electrode assembly.

"The second fuse may further include a fuse recess on the current collector and opposite to the fuse protrusion.

"Melting of the second fuse may detach the electrode assembly from the terminal and drops the electrode assembly away from the terminal.

"The rechargeable battery may further include another terminal; and another current collector, the other current collector including another first fuse.

"The second fuse may be electrically connected between the first fuse and the electrode assembly.

"The second fuse may have a larger cross sectional area than the first fuse.

"The second fuse may be meltable in response to a lower current relative to a current in response to which the first fuse is meltable.

"A width of remaining portions of the current collector at the first fuse may be less than a width of remaining portions of the current collector at the second fuse.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

"Features will be apparent to those of skill in the art by describing in detail exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings in which:

"FIG. 1a illustrates a perspective view of a rechargeable battery according to an embodiment;

"FIG. 1b illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along the line 1b-1b of FIG. 1a;

"FIG. 2a illustrates an enlarged perspective view of a first current collector plate shown in FIG. 1a;

"FIG. 2b illustrates an enlarged perspective view of a low-current fuse of the first current collector plate shown in FIG. 2a;

"FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of another example of the first current collector plate shown in FIG. 1a; and

"FIG. 4 illustrates an enlarged perspective view of a second current collector plate shown in FIG. 1a."